Eldunarí
by GillianArgyle
Summary: When Arwýn is sent on a mission to retrieve the last dragon egg she comes to a discovery that might change everything. Somewhere else in the country, Niyene wakes up after having a vivid dream. What does it mean and how will it influence her life?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone**** ^^,  
**

**This is the first story I publish on my own account, although I am co-writer of a story by EmeliJason. Just like that story, this is a story I do not write by myself, but together with a good friend of mine. It started out as some sort of role playing game, but ended up being more like a fanfic, so.. here it is, on a fanfiction site. =P **

**I would like to say a few things before you start reading. The original language of this story is Dutch, so it is translated. Maybe some sentences look a bit odd, sorry for that, I did my best and used all my English skills to translate it ^^'  
Another thing is that I am not entirely sure if this story is fun to read. Because, hell yeah, it is fun to write for the two of us, but I'm afraid it is going to be a little long winded for other people. So.. please tell me/us what you think about it, so I'll know if I have to translate more or just spare myself the effort. xD**

**  
Okay, here it comes, the very first chapter..**

Slowly they sneaked through the darkness, their swords lifted up, prepared for the next attack. Their delicate weapons, that shimmered in the weak moonlight, were dripping with blood. Deeper and deeper they penetrated the fortress of Galbatorix, fully aware of every sound that echoed around them. Often enough, they were being startled out of their contemplation by a rat that fleed away from them. When that happened, they cursed whizzingly while they held their weapons a little looser, but still they were prepared to attack.

Till this point, their journey on hostile ground had passed smoothly: luckily, otherwise it wouldn't have ended well for them..

Now they were proceeding deeper into the castle, it became more and more dangerous. They didn't know where they were, or where they were heading, and more important, where soldiers were hiding. Sneaking through the corridors, being on their guard for everything, even the slightest movement didn't escape their gaze.

After a long, dark passage they came into a large, round, hallway, lit by torches. There wasn't a shadow to be found anywhere, except from one, at the far end of the room. Estimating the room, the elvish woman looked around, and glanced at her companion. He looked just as worrisome, and she could see in his eyes that this room pleased him just as less as it did her. After a deep breath and a quick prayer, they spurted through the hallway and both of them dove behind one of the large fire beacons. Still, it was awfully quiet in the castle, and this made the two elves feel even more worried.

_This isn't good.. this really isn't goo.._ "Arwýn!" the man roared out of the blue, so she was being startled and looked at him, terrified. First, she looked deep into his dark brown eyes, in where she could read confusion and fear. Then, her eyes caught something behind his head. "Vreth, look there.." she stuttered. He looked behind him quickly, cursed, and grabbed Arwýn by her waist to pull her further behind the beacon.

A moment after he had pulled her away, five arrows pierced the ground at the place where Arwýn had been standing just seconds ago. "We could have expected this.. it was so irregularly quiet." Vreth whispered in Arwýns ear. "If you ask me, we have work to do." He grinned, stretched his bow and pulled a few of his arrows out of the arrow case.

"We can not hide our presence anymore, so why would we try. " he said lightly while he was drawing his arrows out of the corpses of Galbatorix' archers. They had run right into a trap: the big, round hallway where they had ended up had another level, and in the floor were made big openings so you could look down onto the lower floor. In these openings were lined up many archers that started shooting at the elves when they thought they were safe behind the beacon. However, what they didn't think of, was that elves were masters of weapons, and within minutes they had eliminated them all. At least, that was what they were thinking..

When Vreth and Arwýn had put away their arrows, they stopped and Vreth whispered a spell in the Ancient Language, and a small, red light appeared at eye level. From his grin Arwýn could make up that his spell had worked: he created a boll of light that told them exactly in which direction they had to go to find the last dragon egg.

They were getting really close now, deeper and deeper into the castle, closer and closer to their most powerful enemy. After they had walked for a while, and had seen lots of torch lit corridors they came into an enormous, dark space, where stood many, many wooden boxes. It felt ominous, sinister and most of all.. dangerous. Véry dangerous.

The magical boll of light suddenly stopped, and Vreth and Arwýn were perplexed. How could it be that such an important object was kept in a room like this?! Quickly they opened a few boxes, till they found one with a beautifully decorated metal box in it. _It has to be this one.._ They opened the box without much effort and in there was the item they had been looking for.. But one thing wasn't right, it wasn't green.. This egg had a deep purple colour. _Strange._ _Maybe the sources weren't right? The last dragon egg had to be green.. __Could it be the reason that the egg was in such an unusual location, because no one knew about it? _They pulled the egg out rapidly, put it in a leather case and hurried for the exit.

With their magic they scanned the room, and came to the startling discovery that there was an enormous amount of soldiers between them and their way out! _So stupid.. We wanted the egg so much, that we didn't think of our own safety.._ In an attempt to flee to the exit they followed their personal guide. It seemed like the soldiers hadn't noticed them yet, and encouraged by this fact they ran even faster..

And that was when everything went wrong..

An arrow zoomed through the air and hit Vreth in the back. He screamed out, and Arwýn looked around her disorderly.  
"Vreth! Vreth, no! This isn't happening!" His face was filled with pain, yet he managed to look at her. "Arwýn.. you have to go.. You have to make sure... that the last... egg is safe.. It is the most important... part of our task."  
"No, Vreth, don't leave me! Please, I can't do this on my own!"  
His hand reached for her face and caressed her cheek softly. "I know you can do this. You have to.. please.. for me.." He collapsed, and turned pale.  
Arwýn fell to the floor next to him and began to jingle his tunic, having no clue what to do. She placed her finger to his throat, and her heart broke into a thousand pieces when she couldn't feel his heartbeat. For the last time she caressed his shining, silvery hair and for the last time she looked at his beautiful dark eyes before she closed them.

She awoke with a start when she saw sudden movements, and realised she was surrounded by many, many soldiers. _So far our good plan.._ Led by despair she grabbed the purple dragon egg, the most secret object in whole Alagaësia, and she directed all her energy and concentration to the spell she was going to speak out. She raised the egg up in the air and murmered a long, complicated spell in the Ancient Language. A blue flash lit the room, and the soldiers where blinded for a short period of time.  
Exhausted, Arwýn dropped to the ground, and smiled. She had sent the egg to the west of the country, deep into the woods, exactly where she wanted it to be. Then everything turned into a deep, black hole.

**Thanks a lot for reading this try out chapter, please review so I know if I have to translate more ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

Niyene woke up, and sat up in her bed. Sweat was running over her entire body and she was breathing irregularly. What a terrible dream it was.. she had never had a nightmare that seemed so real.

There were two people. No, they weren't human.. they were so beautiful, fast and agile that they couldn't have been humans. They were running through the corridors and chambers of a huge, dark fortress. And they weren't alone: They were there on a mission, and they were being chased by the ones that wanted to prevent that they succeeded, no matter what.  
At last they had reached their goal. From her position she couldn't see what exactly, but they couldn't enjoy their victory for long. One of the two, a graceful man with long, silver hair, received a fatal hit from one of his pursuers. Niyene had felt the pain, the grief and the despair of his companion, who was a woman, like it was her own. Now she thought about it again, a tear ran down her face.

Nevertheless their mission had been succesful, the man had to pay with his life, but they had succeeded. _But what exactly was their mission?_

What did she have to do with this? Had it just been a dream, a figment of her imagination or did it actually have a meaning? Could she tell this to anyone? She decided it was better to keep quiet. She would only bring stress and worry to her mother, this wasn't the kind of thing she discussed with her. In fact, her mother and she barely spoke, except about work. She wouldn't bother Ayod with it as well. He was the only person in this village she really considered as a friend. They went horseback riding together or they went out to explore the Spine, what nobody else dared to do. When they were little, everybody always discouraged them, but they never heeded the warning. Besides, they were grown up now and they didn't have to be told what to do anymore. Usually he understood her crazy thoughts and argumentations, but she had a feeling that she had to keep this dream hidden from everyone. This was hér mystery, and she betted that it would never be solved. Most likely she would forget about it over time.

Niyene got rid of her thoughts and started to get dressed. That morning, she had to work in the bakery. Mostly she was allowed to leave a few hours after noon to do something for herself, going for a ride on Dego, reading a book or whatever she felt like. The bakery was a lovely building in the village, with coloured pentices outside and exuberant decoration inside, and the villagers loved coming there to chat with eachother and her mother. She enjoyed working there.

That day it wasn't that busy, many villagers were at a party in a neighbouring village, only a few had stayed behind. Therefore, her mother had let her leave earlier than normal, and she had the whole day for herself. Delighted she left the shop and made her way to Ayod's house. This was his day off – he worked at his dad's smithy. Maybe they could do something together. She knocked at the door and it didn't take long or she heard footsteps at the stairs, after which the door was opened. "Niyene!" he said cheerfully. He was much more spontaneous and fond of laughing than she was, as far as that goes they were a good match, because if he had been as shy as she was, their friendship hadn't worked.

"Hey! Quiet today heh?"

"Yes, great. My father works on a huge delivery, axes for that guy who lives at the edge of the forest, but hey, day off is day off!" He grinned.

"What about.. we go.. into the Spine today?" She moved her eyebrows up and down, like she did when they were still children and wanted to sneak away secretily. "What? Do you really want that? Of course! Sounds like fun. Do we take the horses?" Niyene didn't like the idea of taking her horse, so she shook her head.

"Okay, I'm on my way." He went inside again and when he came back, he was carrying his small sword on his belt. If he had that weapon on him, she always thought it seemed like he didn't belong here, in this country village. She smiled, and she gestured that he had to follow her. Talking in an undertone, they headed for the western exit of the village. From there you only had to cross a few fields and meadows to reach the forest.

Niyene liked the distraction. The fear she felt this morning had disappeared into thin air. It was spring and the forest was very much alive, the scent of flourishing flowers was in the air and several small animals were frolicing between the trees. She had never understood what people found so horrific about the Spine. Yes, it was untamed, there were savage waterfalls and steep cliffs, but that was especially what she had always loved about this place. They had been here for so many times, at the top of the hill they could see their village and the neighbouring village, and if they continued walking for a while and climbed down at the other side, they would reach a platform with a tiny waterfall that splashed into a lake. How many times had they went for a swim there. But this time they were going to do something else.

They climbed down at another spot, where it was harder to reach the ground. The rock-face was steeper and a bit slippery because of the water damp, but it was easier than back then, they could grab the protrusions more easily and had more grip.

They came down, tumbling and laughing. "I feel twelve years old again if I'm doing this kind of things." Ayod said. "But now, I'm a lot wiser and grown-up of course, a real man.."

She looked at him sarcastically, and he pushed her away. "Do I have to prove it?" "No need, I believe you."

They moved on, but stopped abruptly. Somewhere near, branches were cracking. "What.. what was that sound?" He didn't answer, instead he seemed to concentrate on the sound. "Run." He decided, and that was what they did.

"What do you think made that sound?" she shouted at hem, while they were darting through the forest, totally ignoring the footpath. "No idea, maybe a bear?" More branches were being cracked, and a drone sounded behind them. "Whatever it is, it is getting closer!" she shrieked, and started to run faster. "We have to be fast… aagh!"

They had reached a small cliff. It was only two meters down, but she hadn't seen it coming and tumbled into the hole. Her head hit a rock on the ground, and whatever had been pursuing them, she couldn't see it anymore.

Twilight had fallen at the moment Niyene woke up. "Ayod?" she asked, whispering, her eyes still closed. No response. Slowly she tried to stand up, afraid that she might had broken something, but it didn't seem like she had any serious injuries. He wasn't anywhere to be found, and she was relieved to see that there weren't any animal tracks, either. She started to look around, where in name of the gods could he be? He was still beside her when they fell down, they had both fallen, right? What if something happened to him? For a moment she thought about Ayod's mother, a small, sensitive woman who was always kind to her, and how she would react if Niyene brought her the news that he was hurt – or worse, but she decided that these dark thoughts didn't solve anything. She just had to find him, he couldn't be far.

Niyene left the hole where she was standing in and looked around while she called out the name of her friend. No answer, not the slightest sound, not a single sign. When time passed by, she started to panic a bit, and now she began to feel the pain in her limbs caused by the fall.

She ran from tree to tree, having no idea where she was. Suddenly she realised something..

In the meantime, the forest had turned completely dark, but further on, at maybe a hundred meter from where she was standing now, was something.. A source of light..

Without thinking she sprinted forwards, to stop a moment later, just as suddenly. The light didn't appear to come from a bonfire, it was violet coloured. What on earth could that be? Were the strange myths about the Spine true after al? Curiously she approached the place, now more on her guard than she was before.

The light was located at a vast, green field, covered with field-flowers. There was nobody to be seen, she could be very certain about that now, it was just.. that purple light.

Niyene shove away all fear, and moved away from the bushes, into the field, and she stood still when she was a few metres from the light. It came from a round object, as big as her underarm. Was it some kind of gem? The object had something.. fascinating. It was beautiful, like a jewel. By instinct she knew that she had to take it with her.

She grabbed a large cloth from her bag and headed for the stone. Carefully she touched it, the surface felt smooth and cold, indeed just like a gem. She picked it up, it also was just as heavy, wrapped the cloth around it, and pulled her arms around it tightly, afraid to drop it. This way she continued looking for Ayod, until her legs couldn't carry her anymore. She lied down between the bushes, still clinging the object, her treasure, to her chest. She thought about it for a moment, how it got there, who put it there, and then she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there,**

**This is a long chap**,** but you might notice we are still in the beginning of the story so this is still a bit of an introduction. Don't worry, it will become more exciting later on ^^  
We have a very urgent request for you: If you are following this story, and we have no idea if there actually áre any people really reading this story, please let us know by reviewing. Not just because, we like comments or something, but because we nééd to know if it is necessary to translate more or that we're just doing it in vain, for that would be a shame ^^  
**

Arwýn moaned as she woke up. Her head was pounding, and as a reflex she wanted to grip her head in an attempt to ease the pain. Halfway her movement her arm couldn't move further, and surprised she opened her eyes to see what stopped her arm. Blinking to the darkness, she saw a thick, rusty chain that had drawn red stripes into her arm. She cursed by herself.  
She tried to release her magic on the chain, but where used to be a vast pool of magic, powerful and always ready for battle, there was a big gaping hole.. _How.. What.. That nasty Galbatorix.. He disabled my magic!_ Angry, she wanted to sit up, to see in what kind of room, but something pulled at her neck, and she realized she was chained up, so she could only lie on her back.

She wasn't only slowed down in her movements by the chains, but also by a sharp pain that pierced her body. She couldn't see much, but she could make up that they hadn't treat her gently while she was unconscious.  
While she tried to inspect her arms and legs, a door cracked and a torch was lit. The torch was put into a fire basket, and this caused all the other fire baskets in the room to go on, too. After a short chain reaction of fire, the room was bathing in light, and blinking because of the sudden light Arwýn looked around. It was a big, round room with eight burning fires. On the walls were knives and strange tools she had never seen before. Most of the tools were covered in blood. On some of them the blood was dry, but on some others it was still shining, but Arwýn knew one thing for a fact and that iwas that it was her blood.

A large man stepped into the room, and approached her with a threatening look in his eyes. Arwýn didn't move a muscle and lied still on the floor. He began to mess about with some locks on her chains, and finally he began to speak. "Stand up, Elf. The king wishes to speak to you."  
He pulled hard at the chains around her arms, and with a painful grimace she tried to stand up. When she was halfway there, she fell back on the floor. Growling, the man lifted her up and swung her over his shoulder, and began to walk in a high tempo.

---

Deep in the caverns underneath Galbatorix' fortress creatures had awoken, at the same time the egg had disappeared: They were a group of the most secret creatures Galbatorix ruled over.  
The king had made sure the eggs were hidden safely in his palace and had, just in case, spoken an enchantment over the eggs. When an egg was taken out of the palace, the enchantment was activated and these creatures, the Ombr'ion, wouldn't stop till they had brought the egg back.  
They did not have a shape of their own. When the king had no task for them, they were just shadows, roaming the caverns. They were only woken for the most important and secret missions.

The Ombr'ion were shapeshifters, they could change into every creatures they wished. Whizzing, the Ombr'ion awoke from his deep slumber. His task was clear to him: He and his brothers and sisters transformed into a swarm of crows and headed for a small village that was in the middle of a vast forest..  
All villagers of Kivimetsän had put aside their fears for the Spine that morning and started a collective search for the daughter of the baker's woman, Niyene. She didn't return home last night, neither did her friend, Ayod, the smith's son, and everyone was worried and feared the worst. They had been looking for hours, and after a while they found Ayod, sitting on a rock beside the forest trail. He couldn't tell them where Niyene was, but he joined the group to help finding her.

---

Voices were filling the woods at the moment Niyene opened her eyes. She blinked, and realised where she was. Not in her own bed, but in the forest on a bed of moss. With a shock she remembered the stone, and looked at the package that she was still holding tightly. The sounds were coming near, she could nearly distinguish words now. Of course, the went looking for her. Should she walk towards them? _No, I can not let them see the stone._ Whatever it was, she prefered to keep it hidden for a while longer.

A guy came rushing over to her through the bushes. She was frightened to death, and in a desperate attemt to hide the stone she held it behind her back. It was Ayod, so she relaxed a bit. Would she inform him? Actually, she didn't have much of a choice. "Luckily you're alive. Do you know how long I have been looking for you yesterday?" "Yes, same here. I couldn't find you anywhere either. In the end, I just gave up."

She stood up and showed him the stone, the cloth had partly slipped off. He made a surprised sound and looked from the object, to her. "What is that?"  
"That, I do not know, but you have to help me! Pleaseee." She held her head diagonal and pursed her lips a little, like she always did when she wanted something from him. "How?"  
"Well, or you have to take me home without anybody noticing me, but that seems hard. Or you have to help me to get this " It was obvious what she was referring to "home unnoticed."  
His eyes sparkled, he obviously smelled a new adventure already, he was still such a little boy. "I have my horse with me, we can put it in her saddle bags. Quick, there are people coming."

It was a close call. The purple stone had just slipped into the bag, or a whole group of villagers came over to her, she knew them all. The man in the front called them to a halt when he saw there was someone with Ayod, and they cheered when they recognised her. A few women came to embrace her, one of them was crying silently, her mother. After she let go of her she looked at her. Although she didn't say anything, the grief that Niyene could read in her eyes was more than enough said: she shouldn't have done this.  
During their way home, Ayod and Niyene glanced at eachother like they were part of a conspiracy. They had a secret, it was just like the good old times again..

Niyene entered her home through the back door. Ayod had, after it was announced at the village square that they had returned unharmed, waited for her in the garden to return the valuable contents of his saddle bag to her. Boudicca, Niyene's mother, was busy in he kitchen so she didn't pay attention to anything accept her potatoes and carrots. That was why she didn't notice what her daughter was smuggling inside.  
Slowly, to attract the least attention possible, she climbed the stairs. She hasted in the direction of her room and threw the stone on her bed. She sat down next to it and pulled away the rag. Astonished, she observed the numberous patterns and the smooth texture, then she stood up to look for a place to store the object. Her closet was big enough and her mother wouldn't find anything there, for she never came into her room. The stone would lie there for years, but she would never find out what it meant. Perhaps it didn't mean anything at all, it was just a pretty looking gem, one that could be found in the forest now and then. Still, a part of her didn't believe it was thát simple.

That night, Niyene sat in the village tavern with some other young townsfolk. One of them, Mirya, a well-covered girl with blonde hair, had insisted that they came to celebrate the good ending with a drink. It was rude to refuse, so Niyene agreed with it, although she wasn't that much of a drinker.  
"Six mead please!" Mirya yelled cheerfully at Rose, the barmaid. She nodded at her and walked to the tap, but before she could hold the first ceramic mug under the barrel, her attention was drawn to the door, just like happened to all other people present.

The door was opened roughly, and a group consisting of eight men entered the tavern. Strangers, but they didn't look like ordinary travellers, more like.. _soldiers._ Niyene's first reaction was disbelief. The soldiers of the Empire had never visited Kivimetsän before, they had never had a reason, but there's a first time for everything, right?

The barmaid stared at the men anxiously and waited for a request. The soldiers, or whatever they were, approached and the man in the front, obviously their leader, leaned on the counter with his arm and turned to Rose. Niyene had a close look on them now. They didn't look agressive, although they were wearing armour. They didn't look like the descriptions she had heard about soldiers of Galbatorix at all. Maybe they were just well-armed travellers, out of fear for an ambush on the road.  
"Eight beer, please." The man said in a calm voice. Rose looked at Mirya for a second, to check if it was fine with her that she first helped the men and then them. Mirya smiled, consenting, and began to speak with the others in an undertone.  
"How long has it been since the last time people went by our village? And then they're also heavy armoured people..""No idea, but times are changing. No, they have been changed, and it is just naive to think that Kivimetsän isn't going to notice." Niyene replied, and she knew she was right.

Rose filled the glasses with trembling hands. Every now and then she glanced at the eight waiting men nervously. The man who just had spoken, smiled at her. "No need to rush, ma'am, we have all the time in the world." Rose seemed to calm down a bit, while the party still didn't made her feel comfortable.  
"That's three copperpieces and one silverpiece, sir." She said politely, but she couldn't control her trembling voice. The man carelessly throwed a goldpiece at the bar. "Keep the rest, ma'am, and buy something nice." He said. "Tha.. thank you, sir. I have never seen so much money.. thanks a lot."  
With a smile on his face, the man walked over to his companions with the tray filled with glasses, and they sat down at the table next to the place where Niyene, Mirya and their friends were sitting. "You do not mind, do you? That we sit here. We have travelled for a long time and we could use some good company." One of the men spoke. "No.. no, of course not." Mirya stuttered, but actually she didn't like it at all that these strange men were so close to them, but on the other hand, they hád been nice to Rose.. so maybe they deserved a chance.

One of Niyene and Mirya's friends, Lacuna, decided to give it a try. "May I ask you something? What.. are you and why are you here?" After this question, Mirya poked her ribs. "Who do you think you are!" she lisped. "What if they áre soldiers, then you're dead.'' "Ehh.. sorry.. but I'm just curious." She whispered back.  
The men however didn't seem bothered with this question at all. One of the men introduced himself as Amon, and started to explain.  
"We're from the centre of Alagaësia. We fled because the king had plans to attack our village, and we decided that the Spine was the safest place to go. After many days of drudging through the woods, we reached your village.. and that's why we look so sloppy. " he said, pointing at his clothes.  
One girl, Shaia, spoke the question that everything wanted to know. "But why are you so heavily armoured?"

For a moment it was quiet, and the men looked at eachother cautiously. This ended after a fraction of a second, and most villagers didn't even notice. Niyene however, díd. _Something's not right about them.._

_---  
_

During the days that followed the men stayed at the tavern. It was no problem, for there weren't any other guests, and Rose tried to make them feel at home. Suddenly, a striking amount of villagers went to the tavern, in the hope to catch a gleam of the men. Niyene did not come by, she had a very bad feeling about them. Despite that they were in a safe haven now, they never layed their weapons aside, and when they were walking through the village, they seemed to observe every person, analyse every building, like they were looking for something. She was very glad the men ate in the inn, so they never went to her bakery. Still she impatiently wondered how long they would be staying..

Niyene often thought about the stone. Every night she grabbed it out of the closet and held it for a moment. What did she have to do with it? Maybe she could sell it for a large sum of money when a caravan came by. She could always use a bit of extra income, but no.. They wouldn't be able to see the true value of the stone. Most probably they would pay what they would give for every large gem. This one was different, that was one thing she did know. The stone had shined with a violet glow that night she found it in the Spine, it had lured her to it. Somehow the stone wanted her to keep it.

That weekend Niyene woke up early because of tumult, down at the village square. She shove the curtains aside and softly pushed open the window so she could see a bit of what was happening.  
At the square were standing a few of the men, at least she recognised Amon, surrounding a middle-aged woman, Rena. She and her husband were the richest and most influential people in the village, and had some sort of leader role, although not officially. They kept everyone together and tended to take the lead when certain decisions had to be made. Based on own experience, Niyene knew that Rena wasn't a well-behaved housewife, and she could shout everyone into the ground when she felt like it.

"No! I'm not going to allow it!" Rena sneered at the men. "This is óúr village, and you are guests here. This would be very rude. "  
"It is for your and our safety." Amon said as calm as she had heard him speak in the tavern."You say so, but how do we know who you truly are? If you do not have any cruel intentions?" Rena's voice became harder and sharper.  
"We can not reveal our identy, nor our motives." He answered without losing self control.  
"No. You won't get my permission, I'm sorry. You'll have to modify your plans, or leave our village. Do no let me see that you try it anyway.." She folded her arms over eachother and looked around the circle of men, who were all looking at Amon.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I respect your decision, but now I can not scrape your village from the list of suspects. We will watch you closely."  
"Fine with me. It was a pleasure to talk to you." Rena snorted, and she left for her big house on the hill.

After the men had left the square, Niyene let herself collapse to the floor and remained under the window still. What was this, and what did those men want from them? They were _suspects_? Of what, collaboration with Galbatorix? That was ridiculous, they weren't warriors, and they weren't rich either. There was nothing for him here. She raised herself up and wanted to go downstairs, to her mom who was, judging by the smell, baking a pie in the kitchen, but.. her closet was shaking. She wasn't imagining this, the closet was obviously moving. At a stretch, she opened the door. It was the purple stone.. it was trembling heavily, and tiny bursts had appeared on the surface. The bursts growed and changed into big cracks which divided the object into multiple pieces, and those pieces were starting to fall apart. _It was breaking open.._


	4. Chapter 4

**Hail!**

**More than a year after our latest update we (me and LadyGwenevere) decided to continue translating this story, because apparently, people (or at least someone) are/is still reading it. Besides, we still have material (only 11 out of 54 pages are uploaded here) so all we have to do is translate.**  
**For the last time, this is a translaaaated story. So, there are gonna be odd sentences although we try to prevent that, of course. We hope this does not distract from the reading.  
Having said that... let the adventure continue. **

After a walk that seemed to take ages, the soldier came to a halt. Three times, he knocked at the heavy, thick oaken door. After a few moments, the door opened with a squeaking sound, and they came in a beautiful hall. It was round, with enormous stained glass windows, sputtering fireplaces and huge wall hangings. All sorts of servants were walking through the hall, carrying along buckets and trays.

Arwýn looked around the room with an astonished look in her eyes. She had never thought that there would be a room like this in this fortress. It was gloomy outside, but the light played with the stained glass, so a haze of cheerful colours was covering the walls of the hall.

When her gaze sharpened, she saw a throne made of dark wood on the other side of the room, and a beautifully embroidered tapestry hanging behind it. Suddenly she understood what they were planning for her.

Galbatorix saw his soldier enter with the exhausted elf on his shoulders. An arrogant smile appeared on his face, he folded his hands, waiting for his enemy. While the soldier approached he thought about ways that would hurt her deep into her soul.

This was the first time Arwýn saw the king. His appearance was described in many books, but the way he was sitting there on his throne, dressed in beautiful clothes and smiling in that terrible way, made him look more terrifying then she had ever imagined.

His armour consisted of plates of shining steel, with chainmail underneath. He also wore a black cape, decorated with fur. His scabbard was covered with gems. Carefully, she looked up at his face. His face seemed young at first, but in his eyes you could see he was much older then he appeared. She could see wisdom, but most of all bitterness that had been there for many years. His crown was, like his scabbard, full of glistening stones. His eyes were black as night, and she felt like he could see right through her. His smile didn't help much either: she felt very uneasy, and looked away.

The soldier stopped walking, and after he put Arwýn down he kneeled.  
"Here she is, my lord. Do you want me to tie her up for your security?"  
"No, no, you can put her down in my.. special room." The soldier bowed, and lifted the elf from the floor. He headed for the special room Galbatorix meant. This was hidden behind a big tapestry behind the throne. A room unknown to the world.

Arwýn was put down on the cold, stone floor of Galabtorix' secret room, and her chains were attached to a ring in the wall. The soldier returned to the opening in the wall, moved the tapestry and started talking to the king in a hushed voice. She tried to understand what they were saying, but all she could hear were meaningless whispers. She gave up and put her pounding head on the floor, waiting for her fate.

Niyene tried to balance herself, because she nearly fell when she saw what was sitting in the remains of the stone, shaking it's wings. Carefully, she approached to get a better look at it. The creature was purple, the same colour as the stone. It was a.. dragon? If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed a word about it. She was a plain girl from a rural village. The town's storyteller had told her and the other kids stories when she was little; one of them was the tale of the Dragon Riders. But weren't those all fairytales to entertain the young ones?

The dragon turned around and lifted up his small, horned head. She was surprised to see the intelligence in his eyes, it was obvious they weren't just wild animals. He kept looking at her, and something told her to step forward. She took a few small steps and stretched her arm over to the closet. The dragon didn't look very threatening; it wasn't like he would attack her. When she was close to touching him, he remained where he was, not scared in any way. She just wanted to stroke his head, like you would do with a cat. She knew he wouldn't mind that. Why did she know that? Just, instinctively? He moved his head, as if he wanted to encourage her, so she didn't hesitate any longer.

The moment her fingertips touched the scaled purple skin, she felt a burning sensation in the palm of her hand. "Ouch.."  
In a reflex she pulled away her hand and wrapped her other hand around it. It stung and hurt like hell, as if someone had pressed a brand in her hand.  
Did the dragon burn her? Was she wrong about him being harmless and didn't he want her to come near him?  
Niyene studied her wounded hand and frowned when she saw a spiral sign. It was a darker shade of red than the rest of her burnt palm, and couldn't have been made by accident.  
Terrified she looked at the dragon. He had marked her. Was she now doomed forever? She gave him an angry look. He reacted with a squeaking noise. It sounded sad, but she didn't pity him right now. Instead she slammed the door shut. Of course he couldn't stay there forever, but she would figure out what to do with him later. Maybe Ayod could help her. She figured he would be done with his work now, so she could stop by. Before she left, she put on fingerless gloves to hide the wound and protect her from the worst of the pain. She said bye to her mother and ignored the raspberry pie she was baking, which was her favourite. Maybe it was stupid, but she had to tell someone, or she would explode.

A freezing splash of water woke Arwýn from her safe, black darkness. She looked up, and saw the king towering high above her. He was grinning again: he obviously enjoyed treating her like that.  
"Hurry up, rise and look at your king!" he commanded. With all her energy she tried to stand up, but her shackles made it too hard and she smacked back to the floor.  
He laughed cruelly and pulled at the chains to set her on her feet. "So, do you like your new residence? We gave you one of the best rooms of this castle. My idea, of course." He said.  
She gave him a furious look. "You will never.. never be my king." She spat on the floor before his feet. Her words had the effect she wanted. His smile disappeared, and instead, his face was flushed with anger. He dropped her chains, making her fall hard to the ground. "Wait, elf. I'm going to keep you here for a longer time than you can possibly imagine. We shall see who will give in first. Don't forget that because of Shruikan, I can live just as long as you can." After this, he left the room.

Another bucket of cold water. Again, Arwýn was woken from her sleep, and again the king was looking at her in a scornful way.  
"Well, elf, today we are going to interrogate you." Galbatorix said. "It would be pointless to keep you here without you giving us a little something we need." He snapped his fingers, and a few servants came in with a large chair for the king.  
"Good. Where to start.. Why don't you tell me where you transported that egg to?"  
"As if that still matters." She scoffed. "It has already hatched. Too bad for you. The last egg is in good hands. Now you have nothing left to threaten us with. "  
"I'm sorry but I'll have to disappoint you."  
"What do you mean? You aren't gonna tell me.."  
Galbatorix interrupted her with a slap in her face. "Don't be so rude to your host. But to answer your question: I ám gonna tell you. Even better: I'm gonna show you."

While she was on her way to Ayod, Niyene noticed that the village was full of people. Somewhere in an alley she saw a few of the men questioning a group of girls, or at least it looked like it. What was going on? Why where those men still here? It seemed as if they were waiting for something to happen, but she didn't know a thing. The only strange thing, and it was strange enough, was the dragon. She refused to believe that those two things were connected. After all, the egg hatched long after they settled here. Quickly she looked at her hands and was relieved to see that the mark wasn't visible through the fabric of the gloves.

Ayod was just leaving the smithy when she arrived. He was still wearing his apron and other work clothes, and looked surprised when he saw her.  
"Are you done?" she asked.  
"Yeah, just finished for today. What's wrong, Niyene? You look a bit stressed out."  
"Something happened." She said. "You have a moment?"  
"Of course, come." He leaded her into the house. "No one else is home."  
"That's good."  
"Give me a minute, I'm going to put on some other clothes." He ascended the stairs and returned after a while, wearing his normal clothes. "You sit down, I'll take care of the fireplace. Do you want something to drink?" He lit the fire, and then went to the kitchen to get some juice for her. Meanwhile, she tried to figure out how, in the name of the gods, she was going to tell this to him. You didn't have to be a genius to know that no one in his right mind would believe something like this. Not so long time ago, she wouldn't have, either.

Ayod put the cups on the table and sat in his favourite chair next to the fireplace. "So, what is bothering you?" he asked.  
"Well, ehh, it's a long and complicated story and to be honest with you, it's kind of weird."  
"Just start somewhere, take your time. "  
"Do you remember the tales, the myths we heard when we were children, Ayod?"  
"Of course. Most of them, at least. The epic stories about heroes of past times, about the Elves in the north and the Dwarves in the far south. Why do you want to know?"  
"Do you remember one specific story? The story about the era of the dragon riders?" She observed his reaction closely, and apparently he hadn't expected the conversation to take a turn like this.  
"Yes, vaguely. It's was a beautiful story, one of the legends that fascinated me as a kid. Now, it isn't important anymore. Life went on, and I left my dreams about heroism behind. Wait.. how does this connect to what happened to you?" He looked at her skeptically. If he didn't follow her now, she wasn't even starting yet.  
Suddenly, she got an idea. It was simple but effective. She was just going to show him what happened to her. She removed the glove from her right hand and showed him her palm. "I was burnt by a new born dragon. The purple stone I found? It appeared to be a dragon egg."  
Ayod gasped, and touched her wound carefully with his index finger. It had stopped hurting already.  
"I believe you." He said.  
"What?"  
"Why would you lie about this? And this mark.."  
"You wanna see him?"  
He nodded a little bit too eagerly. Guys.. they remain children forever!

No words were spoken while they walked to Niyene's house. They had to keep this something between the two of them, and with all the strange folks in the village these days, you never knew.  
They crossed the backyard, and the kitchen door was opened widely. Her mother wasn't there.  
"Niyene, Ayod, you stay there! Don't enter the house!"  
Boudicca descended the stairs and began walking over to them.  
"Our house is being searched by strangers. There was nothing I could do. They are with so many, and they are armed.."  
Ayod and Niyene looked at each other. This couldn't be true.


	5. Chapter 5

**Another update, because we are in the mood.  
****We want to remind you one more time that translating isn't easy, much harder than writing something in English. We used expressions in our own language that do not exist in English, so we have to find alternatives for those.  
****Of course, the language doesn't change much about the story itself/the plot. We hope you enjoy reading this story as much as we enjoy(ed) writing it.**

Although she didn't want to admit it, Arwýn was actually curious about the thing Galbatorix wanted to show her."So, you are going to show me something. Something wonderful. Well, hurry up, I want to get it over with so I can continue with being bored in this beautiful basement." She made sure her words were dripping with sarcasm. Judging by his face, it worked, but he didn't seem to care: he even thought it was funny, because his smile broadened. Arwýn wondered how much more stretching his face could take.

"Oh. So you don't want to hear all the stories about how I fou.."  
Arwýn interrupted him. "Now I understand! You are just trying to question me about something really special and powerful.. But you're talking rubbish. You don't have anything, do you?"  
Galbatorix seemed amused by her reaction. "Well, if you're not interested in my stories, I'll proceed to the _moment supreme_."  
He snapped his fingers, and a servant entered the room. "Aro, go get my.. you know what I mean."  
His servant saluted and left. Grinning as usual, Galbatorix looked at Arwýn. He made himself even more comfortable in the chair and began whistling a song. Apparently he was very pleased with himself.

After an eternity of waiting, the servant returned to the room with an object wrapped in black, velvet rags. He put the object in the hands of the king and left the room. Another servant entered. He was carrying a large stand which he put next to the king's chair.  
"Finally, the moment is here. Watch closely, you won't be disappointed." With a swing of his arm he pulled the cloths off the object, and threw them on the floor.  
Arwýn gasped for air. "What? How did you get.. Where.."  
"Such a pity. You didn't want to hear it earlier, and now you do! Sorry, too late."  
She looked at the stone again. It had an oval shape, and it had the length of her underarm: it really was another dragon egg. The stone had a deep green colour, the colour of moss, covered in glistening dew. It was dark green, black, and bright green at the same time. The most beautiful egg she had ever seen.

"Visiting hour is nearly over." Galbatorix said. "And to.. entertain you in this already stunning room, I'll leave the egg with you. And don't you think you can reach the stand. It's just a little bit too far away. Obviously, I'll have your room extra guarded. Well, it was a pleasure, see you next time!" And then he was gone.

_- End of Arwýn's part -_

Boudicca had been watching the entrance of her house ever since she came out of it. She was worried, but her worries were very different from Niyene's. Her mother just didn't like the idea of strangers snooping around in her house, while Niyene was terrified they would find the dragon she hid in her bedroom. If they found him, she would be in trouble for sure. They didn't have to wait much longer, because not much later the men came walking out of the house.  
"We didn't find anything suspicious in this house. Madam, it seems like you're not planning anything threatening, not that an average woman like you would be capable of such a thing."  
Boudicca gave the leader a cold look, and he seemed to enjoy the fact that his remark had such an impact. Niyene swallowed and hoped the men would leave so she could go inside to check if everything was alright.  
As if the man had sensed her impatience he turned to her and Ayod. "And who are they? Your son and daughter?"  
"My daughter and a friend of hers." Her mother replied without looking him in the eyes.

Niyene was getting really nervous, the man's gaze frightened her. He seemed to see right through her mask of self-control and knew that she was terrified. However, the man stopped looking at her because someone else attracted his attention. Another man came walking out of the house, and she could see he had something in his right hand. The leader didn't speak, but waited until the man was close enough so he could see what he was holding. Niyene stopped breathing when she recognized the piece of purple egg shell.  
"What's this?" The man asked her mother violently.  
"I really don't know."  
He stopped paying attention at her and continued with Niyene. "Have you any idea what this is supposed to be?"  
"A potsherd. I dropped a vase in my room a few days ago. I guess I didn't clean up everything." She tried to sound confident. It wasn't that believable, but she had to come up with something.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, sir. Entirely sure."  
The men discussed the matter for a while, and eventually they decided to leave.

"Those soldiers didn't believe me. Of course they didn't. For a start, my explanation wasn't credible at all, and something tells me they knew exactly what it was! " Niyene shouted. She was sitting on her bed, watching Ayod taking the dragon out of her closet and holding him. He didn't burn him, like he did with her, he could just hold him without getting hurt. Why was it always her? "I don't hope this visit will have any more consequences for you." Ayod said. He wanted to hand the dragon over to her, but she refused.  
"To be honest, I think they're going to pay me another visit someday." She sighed. "Make sure he is always hidden."He put the dragon back in the closet. The creature didn't seem to like it very much that he was getting locked up again.  
"I think I'm going home, it's getting late. Keep me informed, and take care of yourself." Niyene nodded, and after he was gone she wrapped the covers around herself. Was it going to be alright?

Her question was answered sooner than expected. Voices coming from the living room woke Niyene. She recognized the high, but loud voice of her mother and it wasn't hard to figure out who the other people were.  
"We would like to ask your daughter a few more questions about her.. potsherd," one of the men said.  
"I don't see why that is necessary. She has already answered your question." Boudicca answered. It was obvious she was really irritated.  
"Nonetheless we would like to talk to her again."  
"She is asleep right now, I'm not going to wake her."  
The men sounded angry for a while, but after that it fell silent.  
With an awkward feeling in her stomach, she lied in her bed. She didn't dare to go downstairs, even with the men gone; she was just as afraid of the questions her mother would have for her.

"Niyene, wake up." Boudicca was standing on her doorstep, with an expression on her face that was hard to define. Reluctantly, Niyene rose from her bed.  
"I don't know why, but those soldiers think you're doing something terrible. It has something to do with that potsherd they found in your room the other day."  
"I got that vase from Mirya, I broke it. I don't see how that is something _terrible._" She lied quickly.  
"I don't know, Niyene.." her mother sighed. "Since those men came to our village, nothing is the same. And they are supposed to be some kind of rebellious organization who want to free everybody from Galbatorix' suppression. But something else.. I have to go to someone in the neighbouring village, could you take care of the bakery today?"  
"Yes, that's okay. I will." She replied.  
"Thank you. Then I'm leaving now, see you tonight."  
Her mother left the house and Niyene let herself drop on the bed again. How could she continue living her life, doing normal things? How could she do that after everything that happened? Simple answer: she couldn't.

The moment Niyene closed the front door behind her and wanted to go the bakery, she noticed it was very crowded in the village. Everywhere were small groups of people, and apparently the soldiers were active again. Quickly, she continued her way, but it was too late, one of them had spotted her and warned the other men. They began to head her way. Niyene decided it would be better to go to Ayod rather than the store. She started running.  
"Arrest her!",one of the men behind her yelled. She didn't have the time to be surprised of this command.  
At last, she seemed to have escaped the men and hid in some corner behind a barrel, where she stayed until she was sure nobody followed her.  
Cautiously she started walking again. She couldn't stay there forever, they would find her eventually. She crossed Ayod's back garden and banged on the back door impatiently. It looked like he had been standing behind the door, because it was opened immediately.  
"Don't tell me.." He said when he saw her face.  
"Yes, they want to arrest me! They're insane!"  
"Come in, quick." He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.  
"Let's go to my room." She followed him up the stairs, to his room in the attic. "At least we're safe here."  
"What do I have to do now?" she asked desperately.

Ayod opened his mouth to give her a reply, but she didn't hear his answer. The room around her became misty and her ears were closed for all sounds.  
Another image replaced reality: It was the woman she had seen a while ago, before she found the egg. The woman she had seen in her dream. She was chained up in a dark room, and didn't seem to be doing so well. In front of her was a stand with something on it, but she couldn't see what it was.  
_You have to flee! Now!_ The woman shouted at her. She didn't open her mouth, but Niyene could hear the words clearly in her mind.  
"Ayod.. I have to leave." She said, and she rose from her chair.  
"You're not going alone." He said. "I can't leave here permanently, I have duties and I have to make sure nothing happens to my family and our other friends. But I'll travel with you until you are safe. Stay here, I'll get your horse and the dragon."  
"The dragon?"  
"You want to leave him here?"  
"No, no, of course not." She lied. The truth was that she would rather get rid of the dragon that had caused her so much trouble.  
"Don't leave this room until I am back._"  
_"Wait. I have to leave my mother a letter._" _She grabbed parchment, ink and a quill from his desk to write a goodbye letter. It was hard to find the right words, because she knew her mother, who didn't know about the dragon, wouldn't understand. When she was done she handed it to him. "Okay, I'll leave it on the table." He said, and then he left.

Niyene buried her face in her lap. She didn't want to leave her village! That damned dragon, he had ruined her whole life. There was nowhere she could go, everyone she knew and loved lived in this place.  
After fifteen minutes had passed, Ayod was back with two horses. "The dragon is in your saddle bag. I made two vent-holes so the dragon can breathe, but it still can be closed." He seemed to care so much about the dragon, why didn't the egg hatch for hím?  
"I'm afraid we really have to leave now. The entire village is looking for you." He said.  
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right.''  
They left the house and got on the horses. Luckily Ayod lived on the edge of the forest, and nearby a road. When they had reached the road, they made their horses run faster, and raced through the dense woods.  
Niyene wanted to cry, but not a single teardrop came out. She still couldn't believe she had left her entire life behind.

_- End of Niyene's part -_


End file.
